Maximum Capacity
by CherriesAndGarlic
Summary: It's Tuesday morning and Ally Moon is on a tight schedule. Can she find time for what really counts? ******Beautiful Noise epilogue, but can be read separately.****** Auslly one shot. Enjoy!


**A/N: So! I haven't written fan fiction in like 346723789578432 years. I missed it! It felt good to write! **

**So basically, this is what would have happened with Austin and Ally's lives after my other story ****_Beautiful Noise_****. This takes place like twenty years later or something. There's no exact date.**

**ALSO:**

**To the people who loved Beautiful Noise and wanted a sequel, I put together this epilogue for you guys. It's only like 2000 words, but in my defense it's the wee hours of the morning. Thank god it's Christmas break.**

**To the people who didn't read Beautiful Noise, you can still read this anyway. BUT it would be lovely if you read and reviewed it anyway :)**

**This is a ONE SHOT. Don't ask for more sequels. Read it and pretty please review!**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or anything else in this story, except for the characters of Laura and Ross. Don't sue me.**

* * *

"Freaking _hair."_

The tiles of Ally's bathroom counter were strewn with plastic clips and brushes as she attempted to guide her dark tresses through an elastic. Her fingers caught in a thick tangle, and it took several sharp tugs to free them—a few strands were ripped out of her scalp as she pulled the knot loose. Her curler lay abandoned a few feet away. A half-empty can of hairspray rolled. Ally cursed and another clip fell to the counter.

It wasn't like the hairstyle had to be incredibly elaborate or anything (however much she wished she was capable of doing something like that). It was a Tuesday morning, for Christ's sake—she had a job to go to. Kids to bring to school. Groceries to pick up. She didn't have time for a hairdo like that. She didn't have time for _her_ hair to be uncooperative, either.

She had always known life would be a hassle when she got married—she was famous enough already, as Austin Moon's songwriter, and now that she had a pop star husband as well, the media was sure to go crazy. Graduating law school on top of that didn't help much (although it brought in a considerable sum).

She cast a sideways glance at the digital clock on her nightstand as she brushed a stray lock into place. Eleven past eight AM—her daughter had to be in class in twenty minutes and she hadn't even packed her lunch. She bit back a curse again just as a blond mop of hair peeked around the corner of the bathroom door.

"My, my." Her husband's eyes caught hers in the mirror as she clipped back a stray curl. "You've made a mess today, Ally." His voice was ringed with seriousness, but Ally had known this man for years and she knew that the twinkle in his eye meant he was messing with her. She scowled.

"Don't _even_. Go back to your pancakes, or whatever it was you were eating." She scowled again and went back to her hair.

"Feisty?" He took a few steps closer. "I wasn't eating anything."

"There's whipped cream on your upper lip."

"So?"

_"So_, I know you were eating something. Go away."

His hands drifted to her hips and he absentmindedly began kissing her neck. A shiver ran up her spine, and for a moment she wanted to forget her hurry and give in to the delectable feeling. Instead she bit her lip; there were not enough strong women in this world. She whirled around to glare at her husband.

_"Austin,"_ she began in a warning tone.

"Okay, okay, I'm gone already." He slinked back around the corner, almost sheepishly, which he knew could make her feel incredibly guilty. She began to say something to him, but he had already vanished. She sighed and turned back to the mirror; as she gave up with her hairstyle and pulled her tresses back into a ponytail, she called, "Hey, can you drive Laura to school?"

"Sure. I'll go do your shopping, too, and I'll go to your job for you as well while I'm at it. Do you need me to pee for you next?" His voice was distant as it rung up the stairwell.

She hated that he could never just say yes or no.

Laura was her eight-year-old. She also had a three-year-old, and both kids needed to go to different places—when she found out that would be happening every morning, she swore never to have another kid. Giving birth was painful enough.

She loved both children; of course she did. But she was so, so busy, and she hated to have to rely on others to do the things she should have been able to do herself; she was rarely a part of family time, for instance, and rarely able to pick the kids up from school.

Austin did all that.

He had been recording an album for the last six months, which, compared to everything Ally did as a lawyer, was a very enjoyable and laid-back task. First of all, one album of his brought in as much money as she did in a year. Second, the guys at the studio were incredibly flexible, and he could come in any time he liked; so it was he who had the time on his hands to spend with his children.

She loved him, too.

But as much as she loved all three of her family members, she struggled with envy for Austin; how she wished she could cook a meal for them for once! How she wished she didn't have to rely on her husband to get her kids to school! She wondered what _they_ thought of her; was she an unreliable mom to them who was sometimes there and sometimes wasn't? To her own children? She certainly hoped not.

And then there was Austin—her sweet, joking, wonderful Austin. What was she to him? He had married her because he wanted to spend his life with her, not so he could watch her rushing to work her butt off every day. On some level, she thought it was unfair that he got to spend so much time with their kids; on another, she felt like she had let him down.

Either way, she was a failure as a mother and a wife.

* * *

"Mama?"

Ally sighed as she heard her three-year-old son's voice from the backseat. She glanced in the review mirror and saw his round little face looking up at her, his dark curls mussed and his eyes bright with question. "Rossy?"

"School?" he asked.

"School," she replied, her knuckles white on the steering wheel as she turned into the preschool's parking lot. The car slid snugly into a space; she stepped out and opened the back door to retrieve her kid.

Ross rubbed his eyes as bright light poured onto his face through the open door. "I don't want school."

Ally sighed again. "I know you don't. Just…push through it, okay? It'll be the weekend again before you know it." Her arms wrapped around his chubby body as she lifted him out, gently setting him down. He pouted and stretched out his arms to be picked up again, but Ally knew he could walk just fine. She took his hand and followed him to the preschool doors.

"Mama?" Ross said again as they ascended the steps.

"Yes Rossy?"

"Will you take me home after?"

"No. Not today. Daddy will pick you up, alright?"

"But _you."_

Ally felt a pang of sadness rack her body like a hot spike in her heart. Her child wanted her and she couldn't be there for him. Guilt overtook her as she studied his bright face, shadowed with disappointment at her reply. She sat on her haunches.

"Ross, I'm sorry. I'll pick you up someday soon, alright?" She brushed his curls out of his face and planted a kiss on his forehead, sighing at his frowning mouth. "Sweetie, go play with your friends. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

She watched him scurry into the building, like a little mouse, and she realized how much he reminded her of his father. He had the same playful little twinkle in his eyes, bright and shining like a star in a hazel sky, and she hated to have to do anything to disappoint him. She loved them, both of her boys. So, so much.

"I love you!" she called, but the door was swinging closed. Her son was already gone.

* * *

"Mom?"

Ally paused in the doorway of her daughter's bedroom. "Yeah?"

Laura's face just barely peeked out from under her covers, one side illuminated by the faint orange glow of her nightlight. "Will you read me a bedtime story?"

Ally hesitated. Her mind split into two levels: one whirling with all the work she had left to do, and the other crumbling at her daughter's hopeful expression. She sighed. "Sure."

She took a seat at the foot of the bed and opened the book Laura was already handing to her. It was a fairytale book, a beautiful copy that was fat with thick pages and embossed with gold lettering; her mother, Laura's grandmother, had bought it for them when Ross was born, but not surprisingly the boy had no interest in it.

Ally flipped it open. Half the page was taken up by an illustration, a scene of a prince bending over a slumbering princess; the girl's hair was fanned out around her head, her gown woven with intricate designs, her face alive with vivid colors. It was a beautiful picture. And yet Ally was struck with the absurd fantasy it created, with how real it looked, how it tricked you so easily into thinking that life really was a fairytale and that anything could be solved with a true love's kiss. Life was envious and unfair. Fairytales were fairytales.

She cleared her throat. "Once upon a time…"

Four and a half pages later, Laura was fast asleep.

"…and they lived happily ever after. The end." Ally glanced at her sleeping daughter and closed the book, a small smile spreading across her face. She leaned over and kissed the girl's forehead. " 'Night."

She left the room as silently as she could. Still the door closed with a creak.

* * *

"I'm sorry I snapped at you this morning."

Austin rolled over in bed, looking up at Ally. She was determined not to look at _him;_ only at the book she was sitting up in bed reading. He chuckled and she smiled.

"No you're not."

"Of course I am."

He grinned and tugged at her sleeve, the covers twisting around him as her attention for him manifested. She looked down at him and raised an eyebrow before going back to her book.

"Why are you _reading?"_ he whined.

"I need down time." She yanked her sleeve away from his prying fingers.

"It's sleep time." He yawned and rolled back to his pillow. "Besides, I miss you." His fingers made their way over to her neck.

She looked over at him, catching his hazel eyes with her own chocolate ones. She had come to love his eyes so much over the years—how they twinkled bright with playfulness and joy, and how underneath the happiness there was an intricate web of hurt and mystery. She remembered how he had compared her own eyes to a pastry once as she gazed into his.

Austin's hand creeped up behind her ear, his fingers tickling the sensitive skin. Ally turned her head away, her ear out of his reach. "Stop it."

His hand fell slack. His eyes manifested a glance of hurt. Ally looked away. She didn't like to see him sad.

"Why are you so snappy today?" he muttered quietly. Ally felt like the hurt drained from his body into hers filling her to the brim, guilt flooding her mind. It always happened like this when she hurt his feelings. She opened her mouth to apologize for her behavior, but he interjected.

"Ally…is there something you're not telling me?"

Ally opened her mouth again, then closed it, like she couldn't decide what to say. "How did you know?"

"Because I know you."

"Well…I'm—" she faltered. She wasn't good at expressing herself, even with little things. "I'm just…tired. Okay?"

She was sugarcoating it to extreme levels. She wasn't just tired. She was completely exhausted, out of fuel, and incredibly stressed. She was exhausted to the point where she couldn't think right. She couldn't even sleep.

She heard Austin heave a sigh as he tugged the covers over himself. "Fine then," he muttered. She figured he was talking to her, but the way he said it made it sound more like he was talking to himself. "Don't tell me."

How did he know that wasn't the complete truth? She sometimes swore that this man knew more about her than she did.

She thought about him, and their relationship, their marriage. She loved him, so, so much. She loved her son and her daughter, who needed both of their parents but only had one. She wondered if they would ever know how much she loved them, even if she wasn't there. She thought about her job as lawyer, a songwriter, a pianist. She thought about herself, Ally Moon, and how she felt like a failure.

She switched the light off and snuggled under the covers. Then she stared at the ceiling for ten minutes.

"Austin?" she murmured finally.

"Mm?"

"I'm also pregnant."

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**And there you have it! The much-anticipated epilogue to Beautiful Noise.**

**I know Ally is a little OOC, but it's four in the morning. Don't judge me. I also know nothing about law school or recording albums, so I'm sorry if anything I said about that is false.**

**If you have time, please go read and review my other A&A story called Beautiful Noise. If you liked this, well, this was based on it. Check it out! **

**And of course, review this! Don't make me have spent my night in vain!**

**Happy holidays! Happy new year! Love you guys!**

**~Mia**


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